Latest Headlines

Comments

Live Cams on NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Bracket Tournament
Live Cams on THA TOAD DUZ VEGAS…”VIVA LOST WAGES” !
Live Cams on Jeff Gordon defames Senior’s memory
Live Cams on The Return of Loose in Turn Three
Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Emory Healthcare 500 (Redux) : NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie on Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Emory Healthcare 500

Sections

David Pearson vs Jeff Gordon: NASCAR’s 8 Greatest Drivers Face off

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

April 29, 2009 3:17 pm CDT 25 Comments

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The final pairing in the On Pit Radio region of the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie pits drivers with 186 wins and seven Cup Series championships between them. And one of them won’t be in the final, four-wide run to the finish. That’s a tough one.

David Pearson is second on the all-time Cup Series victory list with 105 and is a three time Winston Cup champ. He won the ‘76 Daytona 500, set a record for super speedway qualifying by winning 11 straight poles at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In ‘73, Pearson won 11 of the 18 Cup races that he entered. He did all this while rarely entering as many races as his contemporaries.

Jeff Gordon doesn’t have anything left to prove. But he has time to if he thinks of something. With four Sprint Cup Championships, more than 80 wins and 60 poles, Gordon is within reach of all but Richard Petty’s win totals. Gordon has won three Daytona 500s, two Brickyard 400s, four straight Southern 500s at Darlington and was the second driver to win the Winston Million.

The Silver Fox got the best of Herb Thomas in the Sweet 16 round. Gordon dispatched the great Joe Weatherly to qualify to take on Pearson. I have to think about this one for awhile. How about you? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Filed under: Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends

Tagged with: Charlotte Motor Speedway, David Pearson, Herb Thomas, Joe Weatherly, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Junior Johnson vs Dale Earnhardt: NASCAR’s 8 Greatest Drivers Face off

by Charlie Turner

April 29, 2009 1:17 pm CDT 21 Comments

Hard scrabble beginnings didn’t hold these two back. It was all about winning and they both won a bunch themselves and then went on to win some more as car owners. Elite doesn’t really describe the caliber of drivers that remain in the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Junior Johnson won 50 times as a driver and his drivers won 139 races and six Cup series championships for him as an owner. But this tourney isn’t about owners. Johnson won the second ever Daytona 500. He had 46 career poles in 313 starts. Tom Wolfe wrote an article for Esquire magazine in ‘65, calling Johnson “The Last American Hero”. He wasn’t that, but he was one of the greatest.

Dale Earnhardt won 76 times in 676 Cup Series starts and was one of only two seven time series champions. His win total is seventh best all-time. He won consecutive titles three different times and was a series runner-up three times. Earnhardt only won the Daytona 500 once - in ‘98 - but is the all-time leader in wins at Daytona International Speedway with 34.

Earnhardt got by the popular Ned Jarrett in the round of 16 while Junior Johnson won a close one with Awesome Bill Elliott. I think this will be a tough one. Closer than most and maybe the toughest match up yet. Tell us who you think should move on to the final, four-wide finish.

Filed under: Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends

Tagged with: Junior Johnson, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Ned Jarrett

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

You Can’t Un-ring a Bell

by Charlie Turner

April 28, 2009 9:40 pm CDT 1 Comment

I read a lot. It’s an enjoyment for me mostly. My favorite writer is David Poole.

David died this morning (Tuesday) and I found out today. It hurts.

I had some opportunities to talk to David on the radio and a couple to speak with him in person.

When it came to NASCAR, he was always smarter than me. Better informed for sure. And he was gentle in the knowledge of it. He made Steve and I feel like we know what we’re talking about. Nice man, David.

David had some sayings that I really liked. When a driver was particularly strong, he’d refer to them as being like “Jack the bear”. He also told me, more than once, that you “can’t un-ring a bell”.

David’s knowledge, wit and personality will endure in his writings.

You can’t un-ring a bell.

Filed under: NASCAR, NASCAR & the Media

Tagged with: David Poole

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Darrell Waltrip vs Tim Flock: NASCAR’s 8 Greatest Drivers Face off

by Charlie Turner

April 27, 2009 11:05 am CDT 13 Comments

Two-time Cup champ vs Three-timer. Two drivers who were part of early NASCAR multi-car, super teams. Monkey’s vs Gophers. It’s the final showdown in the One and Done bracket of the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Darrell Waltrip is a three-time Winston Cup Series champion - ‘81, ‘82 and ‘85. In the 61 races run during ‘81 and ‘82, he won 24 times. Waltrip finished with 84 Cup victories ( tied for 3rd all-time) in 809 starts and qualified on the pole 59 times. And he made boogity, boogity, boogity - and lately a race rat named Digger - famous. Or infamous.

Tim Flock was a two-time Cup Series champion winning his first in a Hudson Hornet and his second in one of Carl Kiekhaefer’s Chryslers. His 18 wins in ‘55 stood as the record until ‘67. Tim also won NASCAR’s only sports car race, in a Mercedes Benz 300 SL. Flock is also famous for his sometimes co-pilot - a monkey he called Jocko Flocko. I had mistakenly given credit to brother Fonty for Jocko. But Fonty’s grand daughter - Kelly Bair - corrected me. Thanks Kelly.

Waltrip’s Sweet 16 match up with fellow three-time Cup champ Jimmy Johnson was a close one. Flock had a tough time too, with the very popular Fireball Roberts. Will the Hudson Hornet mystique hold for one more round? Let us know who you want to advance by leaving a comment.

Filed under: Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Johnson, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, The Waltrips

Tagged with: Carl Kiekhaefer, Digger, Fireball Roberts, Hudson Hornet, Jocko Flocko, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Tim Flock

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Bobby Allison vs Richard Petty : NASCAR’s 8 Greatest Drivers Face off

by Charlie Turner

April 27, 2009 8:05 am CDT 14 Comments

The winners of 284 Winston Cup Series races, 181 poles, 10 Daytona 500s and…well you get it. These guys are pretty good. It’s the final pairing in the Fast Lap region of the NASCAR 64 Greatest Drivers Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Bobby Allison was the ’83 Winston Cup champion and is the owner of 84 Cup series victories and 58 poles in 718 starts. Allison is a three-time Daytona 500 winner. Bobby won 10 races and finished second 12 times in ‘72 driving for Junior Johnson. He finished second that year to Richard Petty. Son Davey Allison is also one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Driversand raced until his death in ‘93. Son Clifford Allison raced ARCA and the NASCAR Nationwide Series until his fatal crash at Michigan in ‘92.

Richard Petty. Maybe I’ll just stop there. I mean, he IS called the King. But I can’t, I have a contract. 200 Cup wins, seven Winston Cup championships and 123 poles. All records. So are the seven Daytona 500 victories, 10 consecutive wins and 27 wins in a single season. And he looks fabulous in a cowboy hat.

In the Sweet 16, Allison bested Ironman Terry Labonte while The King won a surprisingly unanimous victory over the great Cale Yarborough. They straddled the early and so-called modern eras of NASCAR and made their marks in both. Tell who you think should advance to the Final Four in the comment section.

Filed under: Daytona 500, NASCAR, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, Nascar Legends, The King, The Pettys

Tagged with: Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Clifford Allison, Davey Allison, Elite 8, NASCAR 64 Greatest Driver Tourney, NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, Richard Petty, Winston Cup

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Waitin’ for the Big Show at Talladega Superspeedway

by Charlie Turner

April 25, 2009 11:56 am CDT 1 Comment

I’m an ARCA RE/MAX Series fan. Have probably always been one, but 2008 made it a permanent affliction when Steve and I were able to be part of some of the race broadcasts and host the INSIDE ARCA radio show.

But that ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Talladega Superspeedway yesterday wasn’t a very good show. I’m happy for race winner Justin Lofton, who has been a frequent ON PIT ROW guest. But that’s two straight races on the biggest tracks in the series, that have been pretty goofy. Needs to get better guys.

Sunday will undoubtedly be a different story as the Sprint Cup Series spends a few hours running three and four wide and keeps most fans on the edge of their seats.

Speaking of Sundays - last Sunday will be known by me as One Bad Sunday from now on. I checked my email in the morning and was greeted by the announcement that the best NASCAR fantasy racing site on the net was closing up shop. One Bad Wheel was one of the websites for which I had genuine “site envy”. On Pit Row helped to sponsor the Champs, Chumps and Sleepers game at OBW last year and it’s founder Darren is a friend and has helped me alot over the past three years.

OnPitRow.com is going to continue a few of the popular features from OBW. One of the most popular - the NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks - will be a weekly feature here. Stay tuned for more announcements.

Our own Mindy Monday has a brand new Monday Morning Crew Chief video up. Mindy apparently isn’t impressed with NASCAR probation, but old geezer racers may be a different story. Watch Mindy’s latest video here.

Photo credit: Round card girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler for OnPitRow.com

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Bench Racing TV, Inside ARCA, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR, NASCAR Fantasy Gaming, NASCAR video, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, SPEED TV, Talladega Superspeedway

Tagged with: Aaron's 499, Champs Chumps and Sleepers, fantasy racing experts, fantasy racing picks, Inside ARCA, Juston Lofton, Mindy Monday, One Bad Wheel

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

« Previous Articles